Surgical Outcomes of Thoracic Aneurysm and Dissection Repair Using Deep and Moderate Hypothermia.

Background: Thoracic aneurysms and dissections are uncommon occurs in the vasculature of the human body. This disease entity demonstrates the need for surgical intervention. In the quest to patient safety during open repair, different techniques have been developed. This research aims to showcase the use of moderate and deep hypothermia as a strategy in preventing mortality and morbidity of patients undergoing repair.

Methods: This is a cohort study that included the method of repair using varying levels of hypothermia as the independent variables and and the outcome as the dependent variables. All subjects were subjected to open repair. Eleven of which had undergone repair with moderate hypothermia and 31 with deep hypothermia.

Results: Among the patients enrolled in the study, 11 of them underwent repair under moderate hypothermia and 31 of them underwent deep hypothermia. Results revealed that there is no significant difference in the outcomes of moderate and deep hypothermia with regards to neurologic deficits and spinal cord injury. It is however noted that in deep hypothermia, 20 patients had acute renal injury and is statistically significant with a p value of 0.013.

Conclusion: With the data presented, it shows that moderate and deep hypothermia can be safely done in patients undergoing repair of thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection with minimal unfavourable outcomes. However, more extensive data should be collected to further show the response of patients undergoing hypothermia. This would include the hemodynamic stability and the length of surgical technique.